


"You fainted."  "What?"

by MeYaGurl



Category: Line of Duty
Genre: Blood, Embarrassment, Fainting, Head Injury, Steve Arnott Whump, Whump, collapse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeYaGurl/pseuds/MeYaGurl
Summary: Steve overworks himself and collapses at work.
Relationships: Steve Arnott & Kate Fleming, Steve Arnott & Ted Hastings
Kudos: 32





	"You fainted."  "What?"

Steve knew that morning something was wrong.

It had been three months since the incident, it was his first day back without crutches, and he refused to have any more time off. He refused to go in a lift, he could barely look at them without feeling like someone was going to jump out at him. 

He didn’t quite have a headache but there was definitely a dull pain in his head, his back was playing up too. 

Steve skipped the last step of the stairs as he entered the fifth floor, he misjudged the last step. If it weren’t for Kate, who had just stepped out the lift, catching him, he would’ve eaten dirt first thing in the morning. 

“You alright, mate?” Kate helped Steve to his feet again as Steve nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah... just misjudged the last step.” Steve gestured behind him to the stairwell. 

Together, the pair swiped in for the morning and sat at their respective desks. 

Steve jumped straight into working like he always does. At the moment, AC-12 was only looking at small fry. Steve sifted through the paperwork and started piecing whatever he could together.

“Morning.” Steve looked to the corner of his eye to see Hastings walking past him and Kate’s desks.

“Sir.”

“Sir.” 

It was going to be a long day for him. 

Around lunch time is when Steve really started feeling awful. His head was cloudy and everything was far too loud. He shifted in his chair to try and take the pressure off of his back but nothing seemed to work. 

Kate couldn’t help but notice just how much Steve was wriggling in his chair. She has also noticed how pale he was looking, something was definitely wrong. 

“Is it your back?” Steve stopped moving, he really didn’t need Kate making a fuss over him. 

“A little but I can’t rely on pain medication all the time.” Kate nodded and went back to her work, she knows how much hates people fussing over him.

Steve stood up. "I was going to make a cuppa? You want one?" Kate smiled and nodded.

"Oh god yeah, thanks." She watched Steve walk toward the break room.

At first, he seemed fine. Then he started rubbing his head and wobbled on his feet. Hastings joined Kate beside her in watching Steve.

"Is he alright?"

"Fat chance he'd tell us something was wrong. He did say his back was playing up." Ted screwed his face up and shook his head. Of course, Steve wouldn't say anything about being in pain or feeling unwell.

Steve flicked the kettle on before reaching for two mugs. As he closed the cupboard, he stared straight into the unnatural yellow light mounted on the wall behind it. Sending his vision swimming. As if magnetised, his hands stuck to the edge of the counter as he tried to balance himself, mug still in hand.

Everything around him turned to jelly, he couldn't grip the countertop any longer.

He was falling. Down down down. He waited for the pain. The pain from a broken leg, pelvis and skull. He waited for his ribs to cave in like they did that day. He waited to see the chilling eyes of his attacker. But none of it came. An ear-ringing shattering sound was he heard. 

Kate watched from across the room as Steve flicked the kettle on, subconsciously edging toward him in case something happened. She could see he was trembling and wasn't sure he was aware of it.

Steve closed the cupboard door and Kate could only watch as he physically winced away from the light, gripping the countertop with white knuckles.

Kate knew what was coming next when she saw his grip on the countertop slacken. The mug he was holding, shattering against the floor. 

"Steve!" Kate dropped her file and sprinted to him, pushing Hastings out of her way as she went. She didn’t quite reach him in time and watched his head smack the floor.

She adjusted his position so he was lying flat on his back with her hands on his shoulders. Hastings joined her, worry written all over his face.

"Steve?" Kate rested a hand on his chest and the other on the side of his head. She pulled her hand away and winced at the sight of blood. "He’s cut his head on the shattered mug." Hastings let out a breath of annoyance, only Steve would be stupid enough to rush back into work. 

Kate reached to touch the side of his head again to check if there were any pieces of mug lodged in his hair when Steve’s hand clenched Kate’s wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Woah, easy fella." Steve released Kate's wrist once he realised who was leaning over him. He blinked a few times, getting a grip on reality.

"Oh God, what the hell happened?" Steve raised his hand to block out the light above him.

"You fainted." Steve pulled a face at the pair.

"What?" Steve sat up and braced himself to stand up despite Kate and Ted's best efforts to stop him. Steve looked over his shoulder to see the whole office staring at him.

“Get back to work, the lot of ya!” Everyone in the office returned to their desks and kept their heads down. 

Kate stood with her arms out to support Steve if he needed it. Blood ran down Steve’s head and stained the collar of his shirt. Kate watched as he blinked a few times before seemingly losing his balance again. Kate caught his back as he went down, she slung his arm over her shoulder. His eyes were glazed over and he was mumbling something under his breath.

“I’m going to get him in the office down the hall.” Hastings nodded in agreement.

“I’ll see I can get an ambulance or first responder here soon.” 

“Alright, come on mate.” Kate shuffled Steve down the hall slowly, making sure he wasn’t about to faint on her. She awkwardly shuffled herself and Steve through the door. She sat him on the sofa and laid his head and chest down first before swinging his legs on the sofa. 

She saw through the glass that Hastings was on the phone in his office. When she looked back at Steve, his head was still bleeding. Kate knelt down beside his head and pulled her phone out. Turning the torch on, she flicked her hands through his scalp to see if she could see any glass or find the source of the bleed. 

Steve, who was partially conscious, went straight into flight or fight mode. The memories of the baseball swinging into his head flashing before his eyes. He instinctively tries to grab what he thought was the bat but Kate managed to dodge his hand.

“Whoa, easy mate. It’s just me.” Steve took a breath but his eyes widened when he saw Kate’s hands covered in blood. 

“Who’s bleeding?” Steve’s hand went to touch his head. “Oh great.” 

“Hastings is calling for a first responder or an ambulance. What happened back there?” Steve sighed deeply and rub his face. 

“I think I overworked myself. I... I haven’t been sleeping all too well recently. I have been plagued by nightmares where I’m just falling.” Steve started trembling again, Kate took his hand in her own to show support. “It’s never-ending and then I feel the pain all over again. My back will throb, my head feels as though it’s been hit with a hammer. Shooting pains will go up and down and right leg. It’s all just a constant reminder of what happened.”

“I’m sorry, mate.” 

There was a gentle knock at the door and Hastings stuck his head around. 

“This is Jason, he’s a paramedic. He’s here to look you over.” Steve nodded and sat up.

“I’ll go get cleaned up.” Kate and Hastings leave the pair to it. Kate walks back to the break room and washes her hands of blood. 

“How is he?” 

“He said he thinks he just overworked himself. He hasn’t been sleeping great because of a nightmare where he is just constantly falling.” 

“Oh, Christ.” Hastings rubbed his hand across his face. 

Jason and Steve appeared from the hall. 

“I’m going to take him in and get him checked over.” Hastings nodded as the pair walked to the lifts, looking to Kate, Hastings gestured for her to follow.

“Go with him, will ya. Make sure he’s alright.” Kate nodded and jogged to her own bag before picking up Steve’s bag. She jogged to the lifts where Steve was hesitating to go in. 

“We’ll meet you down there.” Kate sent a look to the paramedic. He nodded his head and disappeared behind the doors. 

Together, the pair took a slow walk down the stairs. 

When they reached the ground floor, Jason was sorting out the back of the ambulance. Kate helped Steve climb into the ambulance before they took off to the hospital.


End file.
